Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) APPLICATION NOTE 004

Identification of materials within spent fuel cooling ponds using

LIBSCAN 400 with a submersible remote probe
Background
Many of the early-design spent fuel
cooling ponds were open to the
atmosphere although the more modern
ponds utilise a fully enclosed structure to
minimise the deposition of airborne
contaminants such as salt spray (in
coastal sites) or bird droppings. Open
ponds are exposed to sunlight and hence
suffer greatly from algal growth which
can reduce underwater visibility to such a
degree that it becomes virtually
impossible to visually identify submerged
items.
The problem

Example of a modern spent fuel cooling pond

Many of the early cooling ponds are now redundant and so are in various stages of the decommissioning
process. Some of these ponds were used as temporary storage sites for a wide range of radioactive waste
and so now contain a largely unknown inventory of miscellaneous items of equipment and materials
including spent fuel. In addition to having poor visibility due to the presence of algae and other organic
material, the water within these older facilities is often heavily contaminated with radionuclides, in
dissolved or suspended form, originating from corroded spent fuel assemblies. During the clean-out phase
of the decommissioning work, it is necessary to characterise and identify components and materials stored
in the pond prior to their removal. One way of achieving this
is to obtain physical samples of each component / material so
that a laboratory analysis may be carried out. Removal of
material from the water can expose personnel to nuclear
radiation and may also increase the risk of contamination
spread. Furthermore, physical sampling followed by
laboratory analysis is a very time-consuming and hence
costly process. Characterisation of the component / material
whilst it is submerged (i.e. in-situ characterisation) could
offer significant advantages in terms of safety, speed and
overall cost reductions.
The LIBS solution
A special version of our fibre-optic probe LIBSCAN 400
instrument which incorporates a submersible remote probe is
able to identify the elemental composition of materials
submerged in water at any depth up to ~10 metres. The probe
operates by ejecting a small amount of gas (air or preferably
argon) through the nozzle aperture of the probe. When the
probe is in contact with the component under investigation,
the water is displaced from the optical path of the laser beam
by the gas flow, thus allowing a LIBS analysis of the material
to be conducted in a gas medium rather than a liquid medium.

Applied Photonics Limited 2004

A 75 mm diameter aluminium disk

submerged in water being analysed by
the LIBS instrument

Only a loose seal between the probe and the component is

required the probe does not have to be normal to the surface of
the material and can even tolerate a gap of up to approximately 2
mm. Remote manipulation of the probe is therefore greatly
simplified since precise positioning is not required. The small
stream of gas escaping from the nozzle of the probe prevents the
ingress of water even when the probe is not in contact with the
surface of a material.
A variety of materials may be quickly and reliably identified
using this instrument including uranium, stainless steel,
zircalloy, graphite, aluminium, lead and many others. The
following raw spectral data obtained using the LIBS instrument
illustrate how it is able to discriminate various materials.
Analysis is extremely quick and in many cases can be performed
in a matter of seconds.
4000

5000

Graphite

3500

LIBS probe and umbilical

Aluminium

4500
4000

Intensity (arb. units)

Intensity (arb. units)

3000

2500

2000

1500

3500
3000
2500
2000
1500

1000
1000
500

0
360

500

370

380

390

400

410

420

430

0
360

440

370

380

390

Wavelength (nm)

8000

1800

Zircalloy

7000

410

420

430

440

Stainless steel

1600
1400

Intensity (arb. units)

6000

Intensity (arb. units)

400

Wavelength (nm)

5000

4000

3000

2000

1200
1000
800
600
400

1000

200

0
360

370

380

390

400

410

420

430

0
360

440

370

380

390

Wavelength (nm)

400

410

420

430

440

Wavelength (nm)

30000

450

Lead

Uranium

400

25000

Intensity (arb. units)

Intensity (arb. units)

350
20000

15000

10000

300
250
200
150
100

5000
50
0
360

370

380

390

400

410

420

430

440

0
660

670

680

690

700

710

720

Wavelength (nm)

Wavelength (nm)

Applied Photonics Limited 2004

Applied Photonics Limited Unit 8 Carleton Business Park, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 2DE United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)1756 708900
Facsimile: +44 (0)1756 708909
Email: mail@appliedphotonics.co.uk

Website: www.appliedphotonics.co.uk

730

740